Sulpicio, missing ship captain blamed for maritime tragedy

MANILA, Philippines - The missing captain of the MV Princess of the Stars has much to account for in the capsizing of the vessel in the wake of typhoon "Frank" last weekend, officials of the Philippine Coast Guard and Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) claimed Wednesday. Coast Guard commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said ship Captain Florencio Marimon Sr had much leeway to act when he set sail from Manila to Cebu on the night of June 20. "It's a captain's call most of the time," Tamayo said in an interview on dwIZ radio, hours before a Board of Marine Inquiry was to start its investigation into the incident. Marimon remains missing since the ship encountered the tragedy off Sibuyan Island in Romblon last Saturday. But Tamayo said he has also ordered an investigation into the Coast Guard personnel who may have been "involved" in allowing the ill-fated ship to set sail. Still, he said the captain and the shipowner both have "responsibilities." Tamayo said that when the ship left Manila Friday night, Manila was still under Storm Signal 1, which allowed large vessels like the MV Princess of the Stars to travel. Sulpicio Lines owns the ill-fated vessel. On the other hand, Marina enforcement unit officer-in-charge Arnie Santiago said in a separate interview that the captain should have plotted his trip, taking into consideration the path of "Frank" as plotted by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). The plotting would have allowed the captain to find "shelter" when the ship runs into the path of the storm, he said. Santiago said Pagasa usually faxes copies of its weather advisories to the proper agencies, including the Coast Guard. He added it is the job of the ship owner's radio officer to gather the information and relay it to the ship via marine radio. "May radio room ang kumpanya. Dapat ang radio officer nag-send ng message sa barko (The ship company has a radio room. It is the radio officer's job to relay such messages to the captain)," he said. - GMANews.TV